But it was fond. How could it be anything but? For all that Sion was teasing him as usual, the two of them were far too close and connected not to care about one another. Probably more than they should have, really, but being raised as weapons had the tendency to cause those weapons to cling to whatever they could. Especially when kept so very isolated. Sion had easily garnered the favor of all his superiors, but even so, Ryner had dedicated himself to protecting him.
So Sion's declaration that he'd only meant to protect Ryner made him scoff. It wasn't that he held it against him. Far from it; he understood all too well. But it still seemed so utterly ridiculous that he had to turn away so as not to laugh in Sion's face at how absurd it sounded.
"Of course I understand. Have you forgotten what I said when they first brought you to R&D? You don't have to go through everything on your own. I'm not so fragile that I can't share the load a little. It just pisses me off when you hide things from me, since you should know by now that you never have to."
Because he knew. Not the details, obviously, but for as much as Sion wanted to protect him, Ryner had always had a very strong tendency to seek out information and had wanted to know about what was happening. The tragedy on Leith...knowing Sion, he'd been there, right in the thick of it. It had to have hurt, especially since there would have been absolutely nothing to be done to ease the people's suffering. He put gentle pressure on the hand in his own. Not squeezing, really, but hopefully somewhat reassuring all the same. He wasn't angry. Never really had been, just worried. And he knew what he'd said on arrival had hurt.
"Hey. What I said when I came in. I didn't mean to call you a martyr. I mean, you act like you want to be, sometimes, but the mods were never your fault. I just don't want you to be in pain. I hate seeing what it does to you."
The blood that wasn't even blood anymore, the pain Sion was constantly in that he so rarely showed to anyone...well. That had all been done to him, and Ryner still carried the guilt of not being able to stop it in the slightest. Sure, he'd had a lot done to himself too, but seeing it happen to someone else was worse. Especially Sion, who actually wanted to be good for the Company. Ryner had never given a damn.
He closed his eyes when Sion finally lay beside him, happy to have won that small battle. Getting Sion Astal to lie down at all, ever, was quite the feat, and he was glad the idiot had listened for once. Up close, he was more than obviously exhausted, the bags under his eyes pronounced.
He laughed a little when Sion sleepily smiled at him and rambled on about pancakes and travel and Ryner being grumpy.
"A date, huh? With some grumpy loser who's mad you woke him up to drag him to Leith when we could just make pancakes here? You really need to set the bar higher for yourself. I'll go, though. Fancy pancakes sound pretty good."
And with that, he pulled the blanket he always insisted Sion keep on the back of the couch - a luxurious, thick thing that was huge enough to cover both of them with room to spare - over them, sighing in happiness at the warmth and the comfort of the couch. Sleeping on the ground sucked, no matter how used to it he was.
"Go to sleep."
He didn't really need to say it; Sion was obviously close to drifting off anyway. But it was as much a command for himself as it was his boss.
And of course I only notice typos in my last tag now, whoops
But it was fond. How could it be anything but? For all that Sion was teasing him as usual, the two of them were far too close and connected not to care about one another. Probably more than they should have, really, but being raised as weapons had the tendency to cause those weapons to cling to whatever they could. Especially when kept so very isolated. Sion had easily garnered the favor of all his superiors, but even so, Ryner had dedicated himself to protecting him.
So Sion's declaration that he'd only meant to protect Ryner made him scoff. It wasn't that he held it against him. Far from it; he understood all too well. But it still seemed so utterly ridiculous that he had to turn away so as not to laugh in Sion's face at how absurd it sounded.
"Of course I understand. Have you forgotten what I said when they first brought you to R&D? You don't have to go through everything on your own. I'm not so fragile that I can't share the load a little. It just pisses me off when you hide things from me, since you should know by now that you never have to."
Because he knew. Not the details, obviously, but for as much as Sion wanted to protect him, Ryner had always had a very strong tendency to seek out information and had wanted to know about what was happening. The tragedy on Leith...knowing Sion, he'd been there, right in the thick of it. It had to have hurt, especially since there would have been absolutely nothing to be done to ease the people's suffering. He put gentle pressure on the hand in his own. Not squeezing, really, but hopefully somewhat reassuring all the same. He wasn't angry. Never really had been, just worried. And he knew what he'd said on arrival had hurt.
"Hey. What I said when I came in. I didn't mean to call you a martyr. I mean, you act like you want to be, sometimes, but the mods were never your fault. I just don't want you to be in pain. I hate seeing what it does to you."
The blood that wasn't even blood anymore, the pain Sion was constantly in that he so rarely showed to anyone...well. That had all been done to him, and Ryner still carried the guilt of not being able to stop it in the slightest. Sure, he'd had a lot done to himself too, but seeing it happen to someone else was worse. Especially Sion, who actually wanted to be good for the Company. Ryner had never given a damn.
He closed his eyes when Sion finally lay beside him, happy to have won that small battle. Getting Sion Astal to lie down at all, ever, was quite the feat, and he was glad the idiot had listened for once. Up close, he was more than obviously exhausted, the bags under his eyes pronounced.
He laughed a little when Sion sleepily smiled at him and rambled on about pancakes and travel and Ryner being grumpy.
"A date, huh? With some grumpy loser who's mad you woke him up to drag him to Leith when we could just make pancakes here? You really need to set the bar higher for yourself. I'll go, though. Fancy pancakes sound pretty good."
And with that, he pulled the blanket he always insisted Sion keep on the back of the couch - a luxurious, thick thing that was huge enough to cover both of them with room to spare - over them, sighing in happiness at the warmth and the comfort of the couch. Sleeping on the ground sucked, no matter how used to it he was.
"Go to sleep."
He didn't really need to say it; Sion was obviously close to drifting off anyway. But it was as much a command for himself as it was his boss.